Category Archives: EUFA Super Cup

The 2019 UEFA Super Cup was the 44th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The match featured two English sides, Liverpool, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, and Chelsea, the winners of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. The match was played at Vodafone Park in Istanbul, Turkey on 14 August 2019. The match was the first all-English UEFA Super Cup, and the eighth overall Super Cup to feature two teams from the same country.

For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used in the competition.

Liverpool won the match 5–4 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time for their fourth UEFA Super Cup title.

Match programme cover

Teams

Venue

The Vodafone Park in Istanbul hosted the match.

This was the first UEFA Super Cup held in Turkey, and the third time a UEFA club competition final was held in the country, after the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium and the 2009 UEFA Cup Final at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, both also in Istanbul.

The stadium is the home ground of Turkish club Beşiktaş. UEFA regulations regarding naming rights of non-tournament sponsors required that the stadium be referred to as Beşiktaş Park in all UEFA materials.

Host Selection

For the first time ever, an open bidding process was launched on 9 December 2016 by UEFA to select the venues of the club competition finals (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup). Associations had until 27 January 2017 to express interest, and bid dossiers had to be submitted by 6 June 2017.

UEFA announced on 3 February 2017 that nine associations expressed interest in hosting, and confirmed on 7 June 2017 that seven associations submitted bids for the 2019 UEFA Super Cup:

Bidding associations for 2019 UEFA Super Cup

The following associations expressed interest in hosting but eventually did not submit bids:

Hungary: Groupama Arena, Budapest

Scotland: Hampden Park, Glasgow

The bid evaluation report was published by UEFA on 14 September 2017. Vodafone Park was selected as the venue by the UEFA Executive Committee on 20 September 2017.

Background

The match was the first UEFA Super Cup to feature two English teams, after all-English finals in both of UEFA’s seasonal tournaments; Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League and Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Europa League. The match was the eighth overall Super Cup to feature two teams from the same country, previously achieved five times by Spanish teams (2006, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018) and twice by Italian teams (1990 and 1993). This also ensured that it would be the first Super Cup to be won by an English team since Liverpool in 2005.

This was the eleventh meeting between both clubs in UEFA competition. Liverpool and Chelsea were drawn against each other in five successive Champions League seasons between 2004–05 and 2008–09. Chelsea have won three of these meetings (including one after extra time) to Liverpool’s two, with the other five ending in draws. Each side has advanced against the other two times apiece, with the other tie coming in the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League group stage as Livepool’s unique qualifying situation that season did not grant them association protection.

Match

Officials

On 2 August 2019, UEFA named French official Stéphanie Frappart as the referee for the match, marking the first time in history a woman would referee the final of a UEFA men’s competition. Frappart has been a FIFA referee since 2009, and had officiated at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the month prior, where she was appointed as the referee for the final. She also previously officiated at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2016 Summer Olympics and UEFA Women’s Euro 2017, and became the first woman to referee in Ligue 1 in April 2019. Her compatriot Manuela Nicolosi was chosen as one of the assistant referees, along with Irish official Michelle O’Neill, while Cüneyt Çakır of Turkey was chosen as the fourth official. French referee Clément Turpin was named the video assistant referee, presiding over the first use of the technology in the UEFA Super Cup. His fellow countryman François Letexier was named as one of the assistant video assistant referees for the match, along with Massimiliano Irrati of Italy, while Mark Borsch of Germany offside VAR.

Stéphanie Frappart, the referee for the match.

Summary

Chelsea who took the lead after 36 minutes when a pass from Christian Pulisic played in Giroud on the left and his first-time left-foot shot found the right corner of the net. Pusilic had a second goal ruled out shortly after for offside after confirmation from VAR. Sadio Mané made it 1–1 after 48 minutes when he scored from close range at the second attempt after a flick past the goalkeeper from substitute Roberto Firmino. The match went to extra-time and Sadio Mané got his second goal of the match in the 95th minute with a side-foot into the top right-hand corner of the net after Roberto Firmino found him with a cut-back from the left.

Chelsea were awarded a penalty six minutes later when Adrián was adjudged to have brought down Tammy Abraham when he ran onto a pass in the penalty area. Jorginho scored to make it 2–2 with a low shot to the right corner. The match went to a penalty shoot-out and with the score at 5–4 Tammy Abraham saw his low shot saved by Adrián with his right leg to win the game for Liverpool.

Details

The Champions League winners were designated as the “home” team for administrative purposes.

Istanbul is the venue for the first all-English UEFA Super Cup as European champions Liverpool take on Chelsea.

The UEFA Super Cup will be an all-English affair for the first time as Liverpool take on Chelsea at the Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul.

Liverpool, who qualified by claiming their sixth European Cup in Madrid in June, are making their sixth UEFA Super Cup appearance, and are bidding to lift the trophy for the fourth time.

This is Chelsea’s fourth UEFA Super Cup match; having won the first, in 1998, they have lost on their last two appearances.

Whoever wins in Istanbul will claim England’s eighth UEFA Super Cup, fewer only than Spain (15) and Italy (nine). An English side has not triumphed since Liverpool’s 2005 success; Premier League clubs have been beaten on their four subsequent appearances, including defeats for Chelsea in 2012 and 2013.

This will also be the first time a Spanish club has not won the UEFA Super Cup since 2013, when Bayern München beat Chelsea on penalties in Prague.

Seven UEFA Super Cup finals have previously been contested by domestic rivals: two all-Italian ones, and five involving Spanish teams including four since 2014, most recently Atlético Madrid beating Real Madrid last year.

UEFA Super Cup Pedigree

Liverpool

The Reds’ record in the UEFA Super Cup is 3 Win and 2 Loss

1977 W 7-1 v Hamburg (agg: 1-1 a, 6-0 h)

1978 L 3-4 v Anderlecht (agg: 1-3 a, 2-1 h)

1984 L 0-2 v Juventus

2001 W 3-2 v Bayern München

2005 W 3-1 v CSKA Moskva (aet)

Liverpool won the competition in 1977 and 2005 as European champions (having knocked out Chelsea in the latter semi-final), and in 2001 as UEFA Cup holders. However they lost (as European Cup holders) in the 1978 and 1984 games.

The 6-0 second-leg win against Hamburg in 1977 equalled the biggest win in a UEFA Super Cup game, matching Ajax’s defeat of Milan in 1973. Terry McDermott’s hat-trick against Hamburg is one of only two in a UEFA Super Cup match; the other came against Chelsea, scored by Atlético’s Radamel Falcao in 2012.

Victory would take Liverpool level with Real Madrid on four UEFA Super Cups, fewer only than Barcelona and AC Milan’s five.

Chelsea

This is Chelsea’s fourth appearance in the UEFA Super Cup, with the record W1 L2:

1998 W 1-0 v Real Madrid

2012 L 1-4 v Atlético Madrid

2013 L 2-2 aet, 4-5 pens v Bayern München

Chelsea’s 1998 UEFA Super Cup triumph came after they had won the previous season’s UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup; they lost in 2012 as UEFA Champions League winners and in 2013 having won that year’s UEFA Europa League.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was captain of the team beaten by Atlético in 2012 and Bayern 12 months later. César Azpilicueta was an unused substitute in that 2013 showpiece.

The Blues would become the tenth side to win multiple UEFA Super Cups with victory in Istanbul.

Previous Meetings

This is the sides’ 11th meeting in UEFA competition, all since 2005, with the previous ten having all come in the UEFA Champions League. Five of those matches were drawn, with Liverpool recording two wins to Chelsea’s three – and only one game was won by a margin of more than one goal.

Their paths first crossed in Europe in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Liverpool’s Luis García scoring the only goal of the tie four minutes into the second leg at Anfield; the Reds went on to beat AC Milan in a dramatic final in Istanbul.

After two goalless draws in the following season’s group stage, each side won 1-0 at home in the 2006/07 semi-finals; Liverpool prevailed, winning the Anfield penalty shoot-out 4-1. They again met Milan in the final, losing 2-1 in Athens.

Chelsea reached their first UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time victory against Liverpool in the 2007/08 semi-finals. After a 1-1 first-leg draw at Anfield, the London club won 3-2 after 120 minutes at Stamford Bridge, Lampard scoring their second goal from the penalty spot. The current Chelsea manager was also on target in the final, against Manchester United in Moscow, but his side were defeated 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Lampard also scored in the clubs’ most recent European match, in the second leg of the 2008/09 quarter-final. Chelsea won 3-1 at Anfield in the first game – the only UEFA fixture between the sides to be settled by more than one goal – before a remarkable 4-4 draw in west London in which Lampard scored Chelsea’s third and fourth goals. The Blues therefore progressed to the semi-finals, where they lost on away goals to Barcelona.

Overall, of the 181 fixtures between the clubs, Liverpool have recorded 77 wins to Chelsea’s 63 with 41 draws. In 2018/19 Chelsea won 2-1 at Anfield in the League Cup third round thanks to goals from Emerson Palmieri and Eden Hazard; in the Premier League, the game at Stamford Bridge finished 1-1 before a 2-0 Liverpool victory on Merseyside, Sadio Mané (51) and Mohamed Salah (53) scoring early in the second half.

In domestic cup finals, Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-2 after extra time in the 2004/05 League Cup decider – José Mourinho’s first trophy as Blues manager – and 2-1 in the FA Cup in May 2012. Lampard featured in both games for Chelsea, with Jordan Henderson in the Liverpool line-up for the latter.

Form Guide

Liverpool

Liverpool qualified by winning their sixth European Cup in 2018/19, beating Tottenham 2-0 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid on 1 June in the second all-English final thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, a penalty, and Divock Origi.

That stretched the Reds’ unbeaten run against English clubs to six matches (W4 D2), since that 3-1 home defeat by Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg in April 2009. They have won eight of their 21 matches against domestic rivals in UEFA competition (D8 L5), including the last three having beaten Manchester City home (3-0) and away (2-1) in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Liverpool’s record in last season’s UEFA Champions League was W8 D1 L4 F24 A12. They have won five of their last six European fixtures (L1).

The Reds have, however, lost six of their last nine UEFA competition matches outside England – although they have won three of the last four.

Istanbul looms large in the Reds’ history; they came from 3-0 down to win the 2005 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan on penalties at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, but have yet to win a game outright in the city, their five visits having ended in three defeats and two draws.

Liverpool lost 2-1 to Beşiktaş in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage at the Inönü Stadium – the venue that was knocked down to build Beşiktaş Park. They also lost on penalties at Beşiktaş in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32 after each side had won 1-0 at home.

Liverpool’s record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L1:

4-2 v Roma, 1983/84 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final

3-2 v AC Milan, 2004/05 UEFA Champions League final

4-1 v Chelsea, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final

4-5 v Beşiktaş, 2014/15 UEFA Europa League round of 32

Chelsea

The Blues were UEFA Europa League winners in 2018/19, beating Arsenal 4-1 in the competition’s first all-English final since Tottenham beat Wolves in the 1972 UEFA Cup. Eden Hazard scored twice at the Baku Olympic Stadium, Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodríguez also finding the net as Chelsea claimed their second UEFA Europa League title having also triumphed in 2013, their only other appearance in the competition.

Chelsea were unbeaten in European competition last season, claiming the UEFA Europa League with a record of W12 D3 F36 A10. Their last continental defeat came at Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg in March 2018 (0-3).

The London club have scored three goals or more in five of their last eight European matches. Their tally of 36 goals in last season’s UEFA Europa League was one short of the competition record set by Porto in 2010/11.

Chelsea’s record against English clubs in Europe is W7 D7 L4. The defeat of Arsenal ended a three-game run without a victory in such fixtures (D1 L2), since their 3-1 win at Liverpool in 2009.

Chelsea have played three UEFA competition games in Istanbul (W1 D1 L1) but will be making their first appearance at Beşiktaş Park. They took on Beşiktaş themselves in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage, both games ending in 2-0 away wins, but the Istanbul side played that home game in Gelsenkirchen.

A 5-0 first group stage win at Galatasaray in October 1999 remains Chelsea’s joint biggest UEFA Champions League away victory.

Chelsea’s record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L3:

1-4 v Liverpool, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final

5-6 v Manchester United, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final

4-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final

4-5 v Bayern München, 2013 UEFA Super Cup

4-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final

Links and Trivia

As a Chelsea player, Lampard scored seven goals in 39 matches against Liverpool. His record in matches against the Merseyside club for the Blues was W18 D8 L13.

Salah joined Chelsea from Basel in January 2014 having scored against the English side in both fixtures during that season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, with Basel winning both games. The Egyptian had also found the net in the second leg of Basel’s 2012/13 UEFA Europa League semi-final defeat by the Blues. Salah made only 19 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring twice, before signing for Fiorentina in January 2015.